Birds and Birding's Guide to:
Watching THE SPARROW-LIKE BIRDS
THE FREE-TOED PERCHING BIRDS
THE RIFLEMAN AND NEW ZEALAND WRENS
The Bush Wren
The Bush Wren is a rather rare species seemingly on the decline, and is usually seen singly or in pairs or sometimes several may be associated. It is mainly arboreal although occasionally descending to the ground to search for its food. Usually it is seen running along the trunks and branches of the trees with restless activity, peering into every crevice and searching the bark for small insects; like the Rifleman it has only weak powers of flight. The nest is a very neatly made structure, usually placed under an overhanging clay bank, and is used by the birds in wet or stormy weather, and it is said that when one of the birds is wounded or hurt in any way it immediately flees to its nest. It is mainly silent at all times.
The remaining species, known as the Island Wren (Traversia lyalli), was discovered in 1895 on Stephen Island, a small wooded island only about one square mile in extent in Cook Strait. This bird is about the size of and somewhat resembles the Bush Wren, but is more spotted and mottled and is supposed to be semi-nocturnal in habits; but as a matter of fact very little is known of it, or apparently ever will be, for it is now believed to be extinct, its discovery and'extermination having taken place within a year. The first specimen that came into scientific hands was caught by a cat belonging in the family of the lighthouse keeper on this island, and, as a matter of fact, all the specimens known to be in collections appear to have been captured by this feline, which was not only the discoverer but likewise the exterminator of this interesting bird, since no additional examples have been observed.